This is a quick post that just occurred to me while writing about\u2013well, writing about writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was brainstorming ways to use technology to help students improve their writing and realized that over and over again, I was thinking about the proces<\/em>s of writing and how crucial it is to quality of whatever the writer is left with at the end.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Great writing starts at the beginning, whether with an idea or need or purpose of social context or spark of inspiration. Whatever it is that \u2019causes\u2019 the writing to begin\u2013what\u2019s wrought there at the beginning is kind of like a lump of clay. Without that clay, not much could happen and the quality of that clay matters; its texture and purity and consistency and overall makeup has a lot to say about what it\u2019s able to produce. In large part, what you\u2019re able to create with that clay depends on the quality and quantity of that clay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Purpose Of The Writing Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Put another way, the writing process itself is everything. It doesn\u2019t have to be used the same way every time and that\u2019s another conversation for another day and I only mention it briefly because the worst thing you can do is read this post and then go shove the \u2018diligence of the writing process\u2019 down the throats of would-be writers\/students who only need to believe they can write and then they opportunity to do so with in the company of nurturing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All this leads me to the title. Instead of grading the end result of that process (the finished process), grade the quality of that student\u2019s use of the writing process\u2013ideally based on their specific strengths and weaknesses and the purpose and audience of the writing assignment itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using The Writing Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Using the writing process takes years of practice because producing great writing takes constant vision and refinement. It requires the writer to understand what they\u2019re trying to say and then say it in a way that produces some effect on the world. Research, idea organization, paragraph structure, sentence instruction, diction, punctuation, rule-breaking, tone, literary devices\u2013using these ideas to communicate complex ideas is hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why writing is less of an activity and more of a process not unlike the scientific process. While we might for professionals, it wouldn\u2019t make much sense to grade children doing science by the accuracy of their data. Rather, their ability and tendency to use the scientific process to test theories and collect data would be far more important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For amateurs in many fields, the process is far more important than the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If these goals (or those like them) are at least partly true, then a viable alternative to grading student writing is to grade if<\/em> the student writes and how<\/em> the student uses the writing process itself in a way that makes sense to them<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And in a way that shows ownership of that writing process that will endure long after they\u2019ve left your classroom.<\/p>\n\n